In-Pandemic Theatre: A Socio-Cultural Reading of the Impact of COVID-19 on Theatre Industry and Dramatic Performance

Mohammed, Shaimaa S.

doi:10.21608/jssa.2023.227429.1532

In-Pandemic Theatre: A Socio-Cultural Reading of the Impact of COVID-19 on Theatre Industry and Dramatic Performance

نوع المستند : المقالة الأصلية

المؤلف

Shaimaa S. Mohammed

قسم اللغة الإنجليزية بمعاهد الجزيرة العليا

10.21608/jssa.2023.227429.1532

المستخلص

The coronavirus 2019 rapid spread has caused a universal pandemic, affecting the whole world, not only the health-related sector but also the social, economic and cultural ones. Almost all aspects of human life have been either put on halt or converted into the cyber-space and the digital realm. To name some, the associated pandemic restrictions issued by governments have left a significant impact upon the theatre industry and dramatic performance, which holds dear the ethos of embodied practice and physical interaction. Most theatres around the world have been closed and ceased to stage their live shows. In this respect, the present paper aims to shed light on the substantial changes that the theatre industry and dramatic performance have witnessed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to achieve this intent, Lev Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and his concept of perezhivanie are utilized to contextualize the common state accompanying the in-pandemic experience and the practices of theatre makers, playwrights and performers to manage the crisis with a resolved determination that ‘the show must go on’. The paper has concluded that the theatre industry and dramatic performance have proved to be adaptive, innovative and interactive in pursuit of successfully navigating the pandemic despite the scale and complexity of the challenges of having to deliver dramatic performance via online premises and digital platforms.

الكلمات الرئيسية

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